About Retief van der Reyden
I was born and raised in Pretoria ,South Africa. I matriculated at Affies, after finishing high school I went to the University of Pretoria where I graduated with a degree in Medicine. Following my basic degree I specialised in Anesthesiology also at the University of Pretoria. Following the completion of my specialisation I pursued a career in private practice anesthesiology. Initial formative years had an enormous influence on my life, my interests and my thoughts on a myriad of subjects.
From a very early life I was exposed to the African bush and its wildlife. A fairly carefree existence filled with happiness, dogs, rifles, shooting and fishing.Prolonged periods were spent in the African bush with some wonderful people who opened up my horizons and gave me incredible perspectives on life and this world that we live in.This led to a great love and passion especially for the African bush and her wildlife but eventually to the wild places and wildlife of this whole planet.
Exposure to photography started early on. I started shooting with a ancient Ricoh KR5 35mm camera with manual 400mm lens using Ilford FP4 black and white film.
Shooting fully manual and before the advent of autofocus – quite a daunting task for the young budding aspiring wildlife photographer. The darkroom for developing and printing offered some wonderful learning experiences in the technique and art of the darkroom. I sometimes miss the darkroom and the smell of developing chemicals in the glow of a dim red light. However to be truthful I did start shooting 35mm film again on a very , very small scale , I suppose purely for reason of nostalgia.
Shooting fully manual and before the advent of autofocus – quite a daunting task for the young budding aspiring wildlife photographer. The darkroom for developing and printing offered some wonderful learning experiences in the technique and art of the darkroom. I sometimes miss the darkroom and the smell of developing chemicals in the glow of a dim red light. However to be truthful I did start shooting 35mm film again on a very , very small scale , I suppose purely for reason of nostalgia.
In 2008 a mindshift occurred – a concious decision was made – scale down from the irrelevance of the rat race. Travel started in real earnest and we stopped wasting time. Life is short and time is precious. A lot of the travels cannot be done in old age – some of the areas and destinations are very remote , difficult and taxing to reach and can be backbreaking hard work. Roads and areas are very rough and getting a stuck LandCruiser out of the bog can become very demanding. Furthermore serious wildlife photography can become intense hard work – leaving camp very early in the darkness and only returning late at night, many hours after sunset. Slowly sleep deprivation starts creeping up on you when the early mornings and late nights start accumulating.
Photography has always been an interest and unfortunately became a bit of a stepchild during the years of study and the initial hectic years of private practice. However in 2014 it went into overdrive. It nearly became an all encompassing obsession. It was an initial steep learning curve to take it to the next level. Also the learning curve never ever stops, .Now we have reached a stage where my wife, Desiree, and myself try to be in the bush at least every 6 weeks in the pursuit of wildlife and the utmost of happiness. For me there is no greater moment when the Cruiser leaves camp in the darkness of early morning, the excitement of the unknown of what the bush is going to offer us today.
The intense joy of joining an African wild dog pack in a fast paced, action filled hunt, battling to keep up with the hunt and seeing it through to the end, however brutal and bloody the end of the hunt may be.The thrill of a stalking leopard, a masterful display hunting technique,patience and deadly effectiveness, it never ceases to amaze me. There is always the joy when heading back to camp late at night, hungry and thirsty.Slowly grinding back to camp on small two spoor sandy tracks passing a moonlit landscape.In the headlights of the Cruiser the track becomes mesmerising and the mind starts to wander down little footpaths – taking one back to wonderful sights,scenes, smells and experiences in the African bush.